Ezekiel 'Ziggy' Ansah could be an intriguing pick for Cleveland Browns

ASSOCIATED PRESS
BYU defensive lineman Ezekiel Ansah runs a drill at the combine in Indianapolis. Ansah clocked the 40 in 4.63 seconds. The number that was more impressive was his 1.56 split in the first 10 seconds.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Defensive end/outside linebacker Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah started nine games and made 62 tackles last season for BYU.

You're going to be hearing and reading about Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah a lot over the next seven weeks leading up to the draft -- maybe over the next seven or 10 years if the Browns choose to build their defense around him.

Some players fall in rankings leading up to the draft, and others climb. Ansah, a defensive end/outside linebacker from Brigham Young, is in the latter group. He never played football until 2010 and has a load of what analysts like to describe as "untapped potential."

"Three years ago I needed help putting on my shoulder pads," said Ansah, who was born in Ghana, Africa and arrived in the United States in 2008. "I'm past that now, but when I first went to the BYU coaches and told them I wanted to try out for football, I don't think they thought I was even serious."

Ansah, 6-foot-5, 271 pounds, grew up playing soccer and basketball at his local schools in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, where he met Mormon missionaries.

Advertisement

The missionary who baptized him kept in touch with Ansah after returning to the United States and convinced him to apply to BYU. Ansah was accepted and tried out for the basketball team in 2008 and '09 but was cut both times. He did make the track team as a walk-on and ran a 10.91 100-meter dash and a 21.89 200-meter dash.

Ansah never started a football game at Brigham Young until 2012. He totaled only 10 tackles his first two years. No one outside his coaches and teammates knew who he was. His family was 7,000 miles away in Ghana.

The light went on for Ansah last season. He started nine games and made 62 tackles. Thirteen of his tackles were behind the line of scrimmage and he had 4.5 sacks.

"This is an interesting defensive end/outside linebacker class because for a lot of them you are betting on the upside, and Ansah is certainly one of them," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. "There are a lot of questions about the guy, but you can't question his movement skills."

Focus is always put on a player's 40-yard-dash time. Ansah clocked the 40 in 4.63 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine last week. But the number that was more impressive was his 1.56 split in the first 10 seconds. That translates into a quick burst edge rusher, which is exactly what the Browns are looking for in an outside linebacker in the 3-4 alignment they will use under defensive coordinator Ray Horton.

Ansah could be a reach with the sixth pick, which the Browns own. NFLDraftScout.com rates him 12th among players in the draft. Mayock estimated Ansah could go later in the first round, thus making a team already good even better.

"I like the challenge a lot," Ansah told a group of reporters interviewing him at the Combine. "I know most of you are here to talk to me, but then again a lot of people have doubts about me and that's what I love. I just want to prove you wrong.

"I'm just trying to staying focused. I'm not trying to let any of this distract me in any way. I pray every day. I seek Our Father's guidance."

Ansah is not homesick for Ghana, but he said he misses his family. He said he knew "zero" about football before enrolling at Brigham Young, so naturally he has had to explain it to his mother and father, two brothers and two sisters back in Africa.

"I was really athletic," he said. "I grew up playing basketball. I didn't want to just sit around and go to school. I wanted to do something. Since basketball didn't work out, I wanted to do football."

Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com offers this scouting report on Ansah: "Rare combination of size, athleticism and natural power. Has a long, well-distributed frame with room for additional muscle mass without a significant loss of quickness. Flashes an explosive initial punch to the offensive lineman to gain space... Slips off blocks when the ball-carrier is near, latching on with his long arms and big hands for the drag-down tackle. Seemed to improve nearly game to game in 2012, especially when it came to locating the football... Possesses significant untapped potential and is an ascending talent whose best football is ahead of him."

On the negative side, Rang says: "Lacks elite first-step quickness off the snap. Relies too much on his speed, size and an explosive first punch to shock his opponent with his initial surge, struggling to break free if the blocker grabs a hold of Ansah's jersey or chest plate."

Ansah is expected to play right end if a 4-3 team drafts him or right outside linebacker for a 3-4 defense.